Jack Mountain Bushcraft Podcast

It’s week 3 of the fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester, and for episode 77 of the podcast we spoke with students on the course. We learned about their first impressions of life in the woods, discussed the trapping class we took as a group and the role that trapping plays in studying mammals, and checked in on which projects they’ve enjoyed and why.

PHOTO: Carving paddles.

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Tracking mammals is the topic for episode 76 of the JMB Podcast. We discuss how we approach teaching tracking, the three types of tracking (clear print, pattern, sign), the three tasks of the tracker (locate, identify, interpret), and why jumping to conclusions is bad, but jumping to exclusions is good. Also covered is why bother tracking and what you can actively do with tracks to help the lessons stick.

We also talk about what we’re reading, and how we’re planning to start a book club on BushcraftSchool.com, our online network. I’m reading John Hudson’s book How To Survive (see link below), and Christopher is reading Nature First (see link below).

PHOTO: Books, track casts and coffee on the table in the Guide Shack.

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Episode 75 starts with a government conspiracy (to us, anyway) regarding whether the whoopie pie is the official state dessert or just the state treat of Maine, then we discuss how a hornet’s nest has stopped us from being able to print anything at the field school for a few days.

Next we discuss the idea of seeing the world with the eyes of a tourist while observing the natural world.

Lastly, we discuss the idea of baselines and additions. A baseline is the way you are used to living. For example, here at the field school our baseline for cooking and food preparation is an open fire, while for someone living in a modern city it could be an electric stove. We talk about living life with a simple baseline is a key to happiness because you appreciate all the wonderful things that life has to offer, and how having a simple baseline is good training for natural disasters or other times when all of the wonders of the modern world are not available.

PHOTO: Camp scene.

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There are three jobs that go with running a school: presenting information, having students do something useful with that information, and assessing the student to see where they are on the continuum of experience.

However, most outdoor schools are simply venues for information to be presented. Information is not the same as education. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that students learn very little while an instructor is presenting information. Instead, they learn when they’re engaged in doing something with that information.

As discussed on this episode, the process we go by looks like this:

PHOTO: Relaxing while cooking supper while out on the river.

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Episode 73 of the Jack Mountain Bushcraft podcast was recorded in the Guide Shack on Saturday, July 27th immediately following the Riverman canoe expedition skills course. I was joined by Brian Manning, Darrin Baird and Blake Towsley, and we discussed the course, learning traditional canoe skills and why they matter in the modern world.

PHOTO: Canoes on a northern Maine lake.

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Very few people who play sports will become professional athletes. But in addition to the obvious physical benefits of playing sports, we learn other things that are applicable and valuable off the field.

It’s the same with bushcraft and survival training. As this field continues to grow exponentially, it’s important to remember that not everyone who undergoes training will become a professional wilderness guide or survival instructor. And that’s OK. But going through the training process can still reap huge benefits for you.

How?

In education it’s called transference or “transfer of learning“. It’s all about how to apply what you learned in one context to a separate, unrelated context.

There is a lot more education going on in our field school programs than simply learning about bushcraft. We want to give people skills that help them be more successful in whatever they do. This includes business and life.

So I came up with 7 things people learn on our courses that have nothing to do with bushcraft, and discuss them in episode 72 of the JMB Podcast. They are:

PHOTO: Working as a team to get through an embacle on the Bonaventure River on the Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec.

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Episode 71 was recorded at a remote campsite in the North Maine Woods while students were out on solos. We discuss solos and how far students have come during the course. Then we address a listener question regarding the challenge of maintaining relationships when working away from home for long stretches of time.

PHOTO: Recording this episode at a remote campsite in the North Maine Woods.

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Links: The book mentioned in this episode.

We’re nearing the end of our spring 2019 Wilderness Bushcraft Semester. Today begins week 8, and we’re headed out for the final expedition of the course. This means you won’t hear from us for a few weeks as we’ll be off the grid. In this episode we talk about the realities of being consistent with media versus being a working guide. In short, we’re guides first and podcasters second, so our podcast and media will never be 100% consistent because we’re always headed off the grid for a few weeks at a time.

See you in a few weeks.

PHOTO: Guiding a trip on a previous course.

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How to choose a wilderness immersion program is the topic for episode 69 of the Jack Mountain Bushcraft Podcast. Christopher and I discuss the three things a potential student should ask themselves and the ten things a student should look for in a school. Having run such programs for over 20 years, I hate surprises. More specifically, I don’t like it when a student is surprised on a course by how it is run, what the content is, etc. They should know this coming in.

What a potential participant on a wilderness immersion program should ask themselves:

What a potential participant on a wilderness immersion program should ask about a school they’re interested in:

PHOTO: Group at Grand Pitch on the East Branch of the Penobscot at the end of a month-long canoe expedition course.

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Episode 68 of the Jack Mountain Bushcraft Podcast is about the assessment system we use for our immersion programs. Christopher and I discuss the role of assessment on a long-term program, the crucial role of academic study to learn deeply, and a true story that drives home the need to learn the scientific names of plants.

PHOTO: Turtle on the Aroostook.

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Links: The book mentioned in this episode.